Greetings from Amman
I had to work today, so I decided to do it pool-side. Life is tough, I know. Tomorrow I am attending a two-day conference organized by the Financial Services Volunteer Corps and funded by the Carnegie Corporation. We meet every…
2009
377 posts
Strategic Uses for Tactical Nukes—not!
click on the image for a larger version Four Kt nuclear explosion over one “sub-harbor” in Ulsan. Overpressures are for a 4 Kt nuke detonated at the optimum height to maximize blast effects. POL destruction limit is the range where…
W76 Problems Seem Overblown
Greetings from the Lufthansa Senators Lounge in Frankfurt. I’ve been struggling with how to describe Ralph Vartabedian’s story in the Los Angeles Times about the W76 Life Extension Program. On one hand, Vartabedian (with some help from POGO) dug out…
Stimson on Dangerous States
As we now contemplate how to deal most effectively with the nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran, it may be worth remembering how hard it was for U.S. officials to devise policies for the Soviet Union after World War…
Lick the Carrot
Amid reports that North Korea is preparing to launch another missile and fears it may conduct additional nuclear tests, KCNA has released one hell of a statement. This is going to get worse before it gets better. DPRK Foreign Ministry…
Geneva, We Have a Workplan
The UK Ambassador for Multilateral Arms Control and Disarmament, John Duncan, tweeted the news: After more than a decade of deadlock the Conference of Disarmament today took the historic decision to restart work. It is so nice to have a…
Li Bin on Strategic Stability
Gregory Kulacki and I often grouse about which portions of the Chinese arms control discussion get translated into English. (I grouse especially, since I can’t work in Chinese.) Gregory has taken matters into his own hands, beginning a translation project.…
The Well Read Wonk
Reading takes mere opinion to the next level. So what are the best articles ever written on nuclear weapons and arms control? I tried my hand at this for ForeignPolicy.com a while back, but my submission was buried and received…
Surprise ≠ Intel Failure
That’s the “does not equal” sign up there. I overlooked something important earlier when discussing what the U.S. government knew about North Korea’s nuclear test preparations and when they knew it: There are two possibilities. Either A) the Obama Administration…
More DPRK stuff
More data is becoming available on Monday’s nuclear test. NORSAR has published the waveform data from two of their stations. The primary wave is very noticeable and sharp, which indicates a man-made explosive event (earthquakes tend to brew a while…